Thursday, May 29, 2014

Get To Know Them: The WWII Soldiers and Guerillas of Calauan, Laguna

A short stay in the town plaza of Calauan, Laguna enabled me to come in contact again with some details about the Second World War II. Standing resiliently despite the passage of time and obvious wear are two simple monuments in honor of the soldiers (who were attached to the USAFFE) and guerillas during this particular war.

The crooked rifle on top of one of the monuments seemed to me a sign on how we see now that event and the people from that event. If one really continues to venerate these recent heroes, they one should not see the sad state of such monuments. As the common saying goes: “If you are in love, it shows.” Hopefully this would serve as a gentle reminder to the officials of the local government to take the lead in refurbishing the monuments.

One should also not be limited with just looking at those monuments. Reading the inscriptions would prove to be an insightful activity especially to the historically inclined. One part seemed like a poem (with all those rhyming end-of-line words), a manifesto of the capability of the townsfolk of Calauan to offer their lives to the Motherland.

* (I’m not that sure about this phrase as I could no longer read them from my photograph.)

Another part, which is more factual, is a short list of the USAFFE soldiers who came from Calauan, Laguna. Fortunate were those whose names were included. However, I feel that behind the stone monument, other names that are now lost to us present generation deserve spaces in the inscriptions.

As a final thought, I think it was this character of this particular part in our history that made its lasting appeal to me: its recentness. I mean the proximity of the years between 1941 and 1945 to the present time which makes it an interesting area to study. For someone not strictly a historian or a history major, this episode in our history presents an opportunity to widen one’s knowledge, understanding, and insights about our collective past as a nation.